Bowie State and Fort Valley State provided the final pieces for next week's championship games as the he final regular season weekend of HBCU Division II football came to an end yesterday.
Saturday, Bowie State (7-3, 7-1 CIAA) easily defeated Elizabeth City State 56-7 to break a three-way tie in the CIAA's Northern Division to win the division title and head to next week's CIAA Championship game where they will take on Winston-Salem State. Winston-Salem State (8-2. 7-1 CIAA) claimed the Southern Division title two weeks ago, but defeated second place Southern team, Fayetteville State 28-21 Saturday.
In the SIAC, Fort Valley State (4-6, 3-1 SIAC) turned around what started out as a 1-6 season to win their final three SIAC games, including Saturday's 21-17 victory over Albany State to claim the SIAC's Eastern Division crown with a 3-1 division record. They will face Kentucky State, who upset Tuskegee two weeks ago during a three-game winning streak, in the SIAC Championship game Saturday.
Here is a full rundown of EVERY HBCU football game from Saturday:
MEAC
North Carolina Central 38, Delaware State 19 - Malcolm Bell threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns to lead North Carolina Central (7-2, 6-0 MEAC) past winless Delaware State (0-9, 0-6 MEAC). Ramone Simpson also had a big day on the ground for NCCU with 112 yards and a touchdown rushing. Three Delaware State quarterbacks combined for three touchdown passes. The win keeps North Carolina Central in a first-place tie with North Carolina A&T in the MEAC conference title chase. The two teams face each other in two weeks.
North Carolina A&T 30, South Carolina State 20 - South Carolina State limited North Carolina A&T star running back Tarik Cohen to 47 yards rushing, but the Aggies (8-1, 6-0 MEAC) overcame a late third-quarter deficit to defeat South Carolina State (3-5, 3-2 MEAC). Caleb York's 1-yard TD run put SCSU up 20-13 with 1:56 left in the third quarter. But North Carolina A&T got a Lamar Raynard-to-Elijah Bell 9-yard TD pass midway through the fourth and then picked off a York pass that was returned 29 yards for a touchdown to seal the win. Raynard led A&T with 169 yards and two TDs passing, while Cohen did score on a 15-yard TD run in the first quarter. York finished with 169 yards and a TD passing while Adrian Kollock Jr. rushed for 80 yards and a TD. South Carolina State held North Carolina A&T to just 258 yards of offense, the Aggies lowest yardage output on the season.
Bethune-Cookman 41, Morgan State 10 - Larry Brihm threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and ran for 62 yards and a touchdown to lead Bethune-Cookman (3-5, 5-3 MEAC) to the easy win over Morgan State (2-6, 2-4 MEAC). After five straight losses to begin the season, this is the third straight win for the Wildcats. The BCU defense only gave up 157 yards -- 32 rushing -- of offense to Morgan State. Chris Andrews led Morgan State with 113 yards passing and 24 yards and a TD rushing.
Savannah State 31, Norfolk State 14 - T.J. Bell threw for 159 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 149 yards and another score as Savannah State (3-4, 3-2 MEAC) defeated Norfolk State (2-7, 1-5 MEAC). Its the first back-to-back wins for Savannah State since 2008, the same season the Tigers last won at least three games. Greg Hankerson led Savannah State with 233 yards of total offense, but he was sacked five times. Marquis Smith and Stefan Banks both had two sacks for Savannah State.
CIAA
Bowie State 56, Elizabeth City State 7 - Amir Hall threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns while Robert Chesson rushed for 223 yards and two touchdowns as Bowie State (7-3, 6-1 CIAA) claimed the CIAA North Division crown with the win over Elizabeth City State (5-5, 4-3 CIAA). Bowie State now takes on Winston-Salem State in the CIAA Championship game. Daquan Neal led Elizabeth City State with 202 yards passing.
Johnson C. Smith 30, Livingstone 8 - Johnson C. Smith (3-7, 3-5 CIAA) erased an early 8-0 Livingstone (2-8, 1-6 CIAA) lead to score 30 unanswered-points to get the win. Harold Herbin threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns while Desean Binyard rushed for a 35-yard TD. Thaddeus Bell and Xavier Longerbeam combined for 291 yards passing, but had four interceptions, three by Longerbeam. Everett Ransom caught nine passes for 132 yards.
Shaw 35, St. Augustine's 32 - Daron Downing threw for 151 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 121 yards and another TD as Shaw (2-8, 2-5 CIAA) held off St. Augustine's (2-8, 2-5 CIAA) and finished the season winning two of their last three games after losing their first seven games. Downing threw two first quarter TD passes and had a 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as Shaw jumped out to a 28-0 lead. St. Augustine's quarterback Julius Murphy led a furious SAU comeback with four touchdown passes. Two missed two-point conversion tries after two touchdowns in the last 1:44 of the game made the rally fall short. Shaw's Keelan Jones had 15 tackles, two for losses.
Chowan 73, Lincoln (Pa) 0 - Tyree Lee ran for 243 yards and touchdowns and Jordan Watkins threw for 314 yards and five touchdowns as Chowan (6-4, 5-3 CIAA) blanked Lincoln (Pa) (1-9, 0-7 CIAA). Tyrone Carter caught eight passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns, with Ryan Nolan hauling in seven passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for Chowan, which had 671 yards of total offense. Tyler Wilson had 12 tackles, three for losses, for Lincoln (Pa).
Virginia State 48, Virginia Union 21 - The Virginia State running game continued to churn out big yardage as Trenton Cannon rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns and Kavon Bellamy added 128 yards and a touchdown as VSU (8-2, 5-2 CIAA) defeated slumping Virginia Union (5-5, 5-3 CIAA). Virginia State rushed for 359 yards on the day. Tarian Ayers threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 48 yards and another touchdown. Shawheem Dowdy threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns and William Stanback rushed for 132 yards for Virginia Union, which lost two of their last three games.
Winston-Salem State 28, Fayetteville State 21 - Rod Tinsley threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns to lead Winston-Salem State (8-2, 7-1 CIAA) to their seventh straight win, this one over Fayetteville State (4-6, 4-4 CIAA). The win ended Fayetteville State's four-game winning streak. Kerrion Moore rushed for 122 yards for WSSU and caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. DeMauris Davis led Fayetteville State with 107 yards and a touchdown rushing and 79 yards passing. Winston-Salem State now gets ready to face Bowie State in the CIAA Championship game on Nov. 12.
SWAC
Prairie View A&M 31, Alcorn State 21 - Jalen Morton threw two touchdowns and ran for two more to lead Prairie View A&M (6-3, 6-1 SWAC) to the victory over Alcorn State (3-5, 3-4 SWAC). Noah Johnson's 9-yard TD run put Alcorn State up 21-17 midway through the third quarter. But Morton followed with a 49-yard touchdown pass and a 1-yard TD run to put the game out of reach. Johnson finished with 123 yards and three touchdowns rushing and 93 yards passing.
Mississippi Valley State 41, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7 - Slade Jarmen had 290 yards of total offense and three touchdowns to lead Mississippi Valley State (1-8, 1-6 SWAC) to the easy win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-8, 1-6 SWAC). Austin Bray was 6-for-6 passing, three of those completions for touchdowns. Joshua Banks caught seven passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, which Jessie Bryant and Booker Chambers each also caught two TDs. Brandon Duncan led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 200 yards and one touchdown passing and 57 yards rushing.
Grambling 56, Alabama A&M 17 - Devante Kincaid threw four touchdown passes, two of them to Chad Williams, to lead Grambling (5-1, 5-0 SWAC) to the rout over Alabama A&M (3-5, 3-4 SWAC). Jestin Kelly rushed for 200 yards and a TD while Martez Carter added 80 yards and a TD on the ground. Alabama A&M was led by quarterback De'Angelo Ballard who had 208 yards and a TD passing and 86 yards rushing.
Southern 26, Texas Southern 10 - Lenard Tillery rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead Southern (6-2, 6-0 SWAC) to the win over Texas Southern (3-6, 3-4 SWAC). Herbert Edwards added 79 yards and a TD rushing. Brad Woodard led Texas Southern with 105 yards rushing while Averion Hurts threw for 168 yards. Texas Southern's only touchdown came on Jarius Moore's 73-yard interception return for a score.
SIAC
Benedict 39, Kentucky State 35 - Phillip Brown had two touchdowns during a 19-point, fourth-quarter comeback that lifted Benedict (5-5, 4-3 SIAC) to a win over Kentucky State (4-6, 4-3 SIAC). Reginal Harris had three touchdowns during the first three quarters, the last giving Kentucky State a 35-20 lead. But that's all KSU would score as Benedict rallied to win. Kentucky State had already claimed the SIAC West Division title and plays Fort Valley State in the SIAC Championship game on Nov. 12. Harris finished with 195 yards and two touchdowns rushing along with one TD receiving. Jules St. Ge threw for 140 yards and two TDs for KSU. George Myers Jr. rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns for Benedict.
Southwest Baptist 54, Central State 34 - T.J. Edwards threw for 323 yards and five touchdowns as Southwest Baptist (9-1) downed Central State (1-9). Bubba Jenkins added 183 yards and three TDs rushing for the 22nd ranked Bearcats. Kavon Meeks did his best to keep Central State in the game, throwing for 163 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 179 yards and two more TDs. But he was sacked five times. De'Michael Jackson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown as CSU had 387 yards rushing. The two teams combined for 1,070 yards of total offense.
Morehouse 24, Lane 21 - Morehouse quarterbacks Monquavious Johnson and Kievon Taylor each threw touchdown passes, with Taylor rushing for another as Morehouse (3-7, 2-5 SIAC) closed the season with a win over Lane (5-5, 3-4 SIAC). Marcus Holliday had a big day for Lane as he rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Marcus Reynolds threw a touchdown and ran for another for Lane.
Fort Valley State 21, Albany State 17 - Otis Brown threw two touchdowns during a 21-point second half that lifted Fort Valley State (4-6, 3-1 SIAC) to the win over Albany State (5-4, 3-1), their third win in a row after a 1-6 start of the season. The game turned out to be the battle for the SIAC East Division crown. The Fort Valley State only allowed Albany State 112 yards of offense - including just 38 in the third quarter - during the second half. Brown finished with 186 yards and two touchdowns passing. Caleb Edmonds led Albany State with 131 yards and a touchdown passing.
Tuskegee 13, Miles 10 - On his only carry of the day, Brandon Wilson's 2-yard touchdown run with 1:15 left lifted Tuskegee (8-1, 3-1 SIAC) over Miles (5-4, 2-2 SIAC). Kevin Lacey led Tuskegee downfield with 2:54 remaining, completing five passes for 76 yards to set up Wilson's game-winning run. It was the only lead Tuskegee had all day. Lacey finished with 201 yards and a touchdown passing. David Whipple led Miles with 187 yards passing while Jamarcus Nance had 81 yards rushing. Miles held Tuskegee to just 100 yards rushing. Miles didn't do any better as they could only muster 96 yards on the ground. Tuskegee plays Albany State next week.
 |
| Photo by Cory Hancock for the Atlanta Journal Constitution |
OTHERS
Tennessee State 41, Austin Peay 40 - Ronald Butler's 21-yard touchdown pass to Steven Newbold with two seconds remaining gave Tennessee State (6-3, 3-2 OVC) over in-state rival Austin Peay (0-9, ). TSU had led by fifteen heading into the fourth quarter. But Austin Peay got three touchdowns passes from Javanughn Craig during the fourth quarter, seemingly ready to pull off the upset as they went up 40-34 with 1:05 left. It was their first lead in a game since the first week of the season. But Butler led TSU on a six-play, 81-yard drive to set the winning touchdown and extra point. Butler threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Newbold. Butler also rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Craig had a huge day for Austin Peay, finishing with 322 yards and five touchdowns passing and 144 yards rushing. Jared Beard caught eight passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
Kutztown 32, Cheyney 6 - James Wah Jr. rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns to lead Kutztown (7-3, 7-0 PSAC) to the win over Cheyney (1-9, 0-7 PSAC). It marks Kutztown's first every PSAC undefeated conference season. Dominick Trautz led Cheyney with 136 yards passing.
Southwest Assemblies of God 57, Texas College 39
Langston 40, Lyon 12
William Jewel 48, Lincoln (Mo) 17
West Virginia State 52, Concord 45
 |
| Photo by Ernst Peters/The Ledger |
